Aurora, Newtown, Charlotte, Tucson, Chattanooga… just to remember so very few of the many shooting tragedies.

Just last night I was wondering why the recent death of Sandra Bland and the apparent police brutality against her for a simple traffic violation was _not_ met with protests and posters demanding justice and peace (as some the most recent tragic deaths as a result of contact with police have been)?

Three days in jail? Suicide? Homicide? This was yet another Black American who was mistreated by police … ending in loss of life.

Yes, Black lives matter!

Yes. _All_ lives matter.

So, how do citizens choose _which_ cities will “burn” for the injustices, and which cities will rather instead simmer in quiet riot? And most of us are shaking our heads wondering… will we see the next situation boil over in America?

Further I continue to wonder… Why has their been more vitriol and outrage over the death of “Cecil the Lion” than any of the humans involved in the above tragedies? Boiling point? I’m at it.

Judge Vaughn Walker’s pending decision in the federal Prop 8 trial is still yet to be seen, but the marriage equality movement just won another major federal court victory.

A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled that a large part of the “Defense of Marriage Act“ — the 1996 federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage by the federal government — is unconstitutional.

This ruling on DOMA is wonderful news and a huge victory in our fight to bring full equality to all Americans. If the ruling is not overturned, the federal government will have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states that recognize such marriages, eliminating yet another discriminatory barrier.

Of course, that didn’t stop Maggie Gallagher, Chair of the right-wing “National Organization for Marriage,” from claiming that this ruling might cause a “culture war”:

“Does this federal judge want to start another culture war? Does he really want another Roe. v. Wade? The simple fact is that the right of the federal government to define marriage for the purposes of its federal law and federal territories has been clear since the late 19th century, when Congress banned polygamy. Only an incompetent defense could have lost this case. We expect to win in a higher court.”

Now President Obama is faced with a critical decision: appeal the ruling to a higher court or let it stand. You can take a moment to tell President Obama you would like him to stand with equality by going here.

This is not a political piece per se. In that I am not going to even go into what I do, or do not, think about the health care reform debate in America.

What I cannot believe is what I have been seeing on the news recently–especially since the health care reform bill was signed into law by the President. We are seeing sanctioned, recommended, threatened, carried-out, backlash in the form of vandalism by “conservative” people against individuals who supportedhealth care reform.

Bricks thrown through Democratic office buildings all over the country, death threats left on answering machines, individuals encouraging US citizens to “take up arms” and be ready to point them at the hearts of the “tyrants.” What the hell is going on in America? Can’t civilized human beings have differences of opinion without taking up arms and using them to throw bricks, pull triggers, or even detonate devices? “Don’t retreat, reload” a delightful quote by the former half-governor of Alaska.

As the Prop. 8 trial continues in California it brings same-sex marriage to the forefront of the news in America once again. It makes one ponder the question I know that I have thought of so many times since 2004 when gay marriage started becoming a big political spotlight issue: what are people so afraid of? What it is about same-sex marriage that brings people together on so many levels? What is it about this issue that often times brings individuals together solely for the purpose of striking down any possibility of any relationship recognition for same-sex couples?

“Conservatives have long rightly argued for the vital importance of the institution of marriage for fostering responsibility, commitment and the domestication of unruly men. Bringing gay men and women into this institution will surely change the gay subculture in subtle but profoundly conservative ways.”